Festivus

Significance    A holiday celebrated by those frustrated with the existing problems of Christmas and trying to accomodate everyone into just one day. Further this addresses other religions and beliefes. Festivus is a non denomination celebration of life, love friends and family.

Festivus runs a full ten days which allows one to plan their entire festive occasion and removed the need to try to fit everything into one day.

Gifting is purely optional, however Festivus allows one to take advantage of after Christmas sales.

Festivus allows for office parties without the need to worry about religious sensitivities. It is joyous and inclusive. Everyone can share in Festivus.

Date    December 23 to January 1st.

Festivus is a time for celebrations for friends and family. A time for Festivus miracles.

Festivus is a secular holiday celebrated from the date of December 23 to January 1st inclusive.

Celebrants of the holiday sometimes refer to it as "Festivus for the rest of us," a saying taken from the O'Keefe family traditions and popularized in the Seinfeld episode to describe Festivus as "another way" to celebrate the holiday season without participating in its pressures and commercialism.

History

Although the original Festivus took place in February 1966, as a celebration of the elder O'Keefe's first date with his future wife, Deborah.

Today Festivus has evolved to become a holiday season for all those who would prefer the holiday to be about friends and family.

Etymology and origin

Festivus is a Latin word, but not the name of a festival: in one reference it is said to mean "festive." A scholarly work on the etymology of the word by Dr. Brian A. Krostenko, summarized in Salkin's book, concludes that in ancient Rome the word evolved, referring at times to the way the common folk would misbehave on official religious holidays and at other times to a certain snooty attitude amongst the higher classes. The English word festive derives from festivus, which in turn derives from festus "joyous; holiday, feast day."

In the O'Keefe tradition, the holiday would take place in response to family tension, "any time from December to May." The phrase "A Festivus for the rest of us" also derived from an O'Keefe family event, the death of the elder O'Keefe's mother.

The elder O'Keefe wrote a book, Stolen Lightning: The Social Theory of Magic (1982), that deals with idiosyncratic ritual and its social significance, a theme relevant to Festivus tradition.

Festivus dinner

In order to not confilct with any religious dates the Festivus Dinner can be held at any date in the period known as Festivus.

The Festivus dinner is a celebratory dinner that is celebrated with toasts to friends, family and things to be greatful for.

The dinner features the telling of stories of the past and since last Festivus. The traditional dinner is Turkey but Chicken, Duck, Goose, are often subsituted for the Turkey.

All Festivus dinners are prepared based on what the guests will like to eat... a highlight is always pumpkin pie with real whipped cream.

It is mandatory that all guests have at least a sip of wine. Wine ought to be served in a flask, but chrystal is an acceptable substitute.

Festivus has now become a seasonal holiday for thousands of people who are tired of trying to accomodate all family and friends into one day.

Now with Festivus, we can all plan our holidays with true festive spirit. And we have the whole holiday to be able celebrate with all friends and family by way of multiple Festvus dinners.

Festivus in popular culture

"Happy Festivus" embroidery on a yarmulke.

"Festivus" was the name of a seasonal Ben & Jerry's ice cream made in 2000 and 2001
"Festivus" was a term used by the 2000 Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL) and their fans to denote the NFL Playoffs. During the season, Ravens head coach Brian Billick, wanting his players to focus on every game, banned the word "playoffs." Players substituted the term "festivus" for playoffs and "Festivus Maximus" for the Super Bowl. The Ravens eventually won the 2001 Festivus Maximus, Super Bowl XXXV.

In 2005, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle was declared "Governor Festivus" and during the holiday season displayed a Festivus Pole in the family room of the Executive Residence in Madison, Wisconsin. Governor Doyle's 2005 Festivus Pole is now part of the collection of the Wisconsin Historical Museum.

In 2007, a Wisconsin man requested permission to erect a Festivus pole next to Green Bay City Hall's nativity scene as a response to public religious and secular displays.

In 2007, The Wagner Companies provided the first Festivus Pole Lot  in downtown Milwaukee
In 2008 and 2009, a Festivus pole was erected in the rotunda of the Illinois Capitol building located in Springfield, Illinois. In 2008, the handle of a pool cleaner was erected by 18 year old student, Mike Tennenhouse, who along with Governor Rod Blagojevich began "airing grievances" on behalf of the people of Illinois. The 2009 display was an unadorned aluminum pole.

In 2008 the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. held an "airing of grievances" on bulletin boards attached to a kiosk. These grievances were then aired by a town crier in a jester hat the following weekend.